Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman's celebrated commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy,and illuminating perspective in journalism.

Longitudes and Attitudes contains the columns Friedman has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis. As the author writes, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished, emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September and its aftermath, as they were unfolding."

Readers have repeatedly said that Friedman has expressed the essence of their own feelings, helping them not only by explaining who "they" are, but also by reassuring us about who "we" are. More than any other journalist writing, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of its role in a changed world.

Thomas L. Friedman has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize three times for his newspaper reporting, and is the author of two bestselling books, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (FSG, 1999) and From Beirut to Jerusalem (FSG, 1989), winner of the 1989 National Book Award in Nonfiction. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his family.

A Publishers Weekly Best Book

In the spring of 2002, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman won his third Pulitzer Prize "for his clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat" after the attacks of September 11, 2001. This recognition by the fraternity of journalists underlines Friedman's ability to interpret the world for American readers clearly and insightfully. Twice a week, his commentary provides trenchant perspective on world affairs, often setting the terms of debate in the United States and abroad.

Longitudes and Attitudes is made up of the columns Friedman has published about September 11, as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections during his reporting on the post-September 11 world, as he travels from Afghanistan to Israel to Europe to Indonesia to Saudi Arabia. He talks with the major players in the story and to men and women in bazaars, schools, and alleyways, developing and refining his unique perspective on the new kind of war America finds itself fighting. As Friedman puts it, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September 11 and its aftermath." With this book, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of a radically new world and our own complex place within it.

"What makes [this book] eminently worth reading is Mr. Friedman's sure grasp of so many of the main issues facing the United States in the wars with terror and Iraq . . . More than the reportingoften brilliantand more than the access to insiders, it is this ability to see a few big truths steadily and whole that make him the most important columnist in America today . . . Perhaps the highlight of this book is Mr. Friedman's diary account of his travels in Saudi Arabia in an effort to understand why so many of the Sept. 11 hijackers came from that kingdom. His encounters with Saudis at all levels of society bring all his strengths into play and yield insight after insight into the dilemmas America faces in the Middle East . . . Top-notch columnists like Mr. Friedman are needed more than ever to understand the emerging conflicts and dangers that will help define this new and unsettling stage of world history."Walter Russell Mead, The New York Times

"For historical context, before and after September 11, I can't think of a more useful and informative book than Longitudes and Attitudes . . . His writing is marked by urgency, intelligence, passion and a clear sense of priorities."Susan Laron, The New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Few writers have a better grasp than Thomas L. Friedman of the dimensions of America's war on terrorism . . . Friedman's insights alone make this collection of columns . . . a valuable work."Mark Matthews, The Baltimore Sun

"As The Times's roaming foreign affairs columnist, traveling wherever he likes and writing whatever he likes with total freedom . . . gave him a most unusual vantage point from which to come to terms with these shattering events . . . The book displays his salient strengths as a commentator. [He is] always a writer with the ability to make you think, whether in agreement or otherwise."Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Times

"As a record of what the world looked like to one diligent, concerned journalist during 2001 and the first half of 2002, [Longitudes and Attitudes] is enormously valuable."Charles Matthews, San José Mercury News

"This lucid book, consisting of Friedman's exceptionally frank and convincing columns and an insightful post-September 11 diary, prods at the questions surrounding that day and offers an invaluable reporter's perspective on the world from outside U.S. borders. The previously unpublished diary offers the most insight to the state of the world after September 11."Publishers Weekly

Synopsis:

From one of America's most honored writers--A unique perspective on our radically new world

Synopsis:

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after.

Synopsis:

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after.

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman's celebrated commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy,and illuminating perspective in journalism.

Longitudes and Attitudes contains the columns Friedman has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis. As the author writes, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished, emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September and its aftermath, as they were unfolding."

Readers have repeatedly said that Friedman has expressed the essence of their own feelings, helping them not only by explaining who "they" are, but also by reassuring us about who "we" are. More than any other journalist writing, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of its role in a changed world.

Synopsis:

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman's celebrated commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy,and illuminating perspective in journalism.

Longitudes and Attitudes contains the columns Friedman has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis. As the author writes, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished, emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September and its aftermath, as they were unfolding."

Readers have repeatedly said that Friedman has expressed the essence of their own feelings, helping them not only by explaining who "they" are, but also by reassuring us about who "we" are. More than any other journalist writing, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of its role in a changed world.

About the Author

Thomas L. Friedman has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize three times for his newspaper reporting, and is the author of two bestselling books, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization (FSG, 1999) and From Beirut to Jerusalem (FSG, 1989), winner of the 1989 National Book Award in Nonfiction. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his family.

From one of America's most honored writers--A unique perspective on our radically new world

"Synopsis"
by Netread,

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after.

"Synopsis"
by Netread,

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after.

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman's celebrated commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy,and illuminating perspective in journalism.

Longitudes and Attitudes contains the columns Friedman has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis. As the author writes, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished, emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September and its aftermath, as they were unfolding."

Readers have repeatedly said that Friedman has expressed the essence of their own feelings, helping them not only by explaining who "they" are, but also by reassuring us about who "we" are. More than any other journalist writing, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of its role in a changed world.

"Synopsis"
by Netread,

America's leading observer of the international scene on the minute-by-minute events of September 11th--before, during and after

As the Foreign Affairs columnist for the The New York Times, Thomas L. Friedman is in a unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman's celebrated commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy,and illuminating perspective in journalism.

Longitudes and Attitudes contains the columns Friedman has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his experiences and reactions during this period of crisis. As the author writes, the book is "not meant to be a comprehensive study of September 11 and all the factors that went into it. Rather, my hope is that it will constitute a 'word album' that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished, emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September and its aftermath, as they were unfolding."

Readers have repeatedly said that Friedman has expressed the essence of their own feelings, helping them not only by explaining who "they" are, but also by reassuring us about who "we" are. More than any other journalist writing, Friedman gives voice to America's awakening sense of its role in a changed world.

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